Sunday Musings 7/17/11, on Beth’s 50th Birthday!

Sunday musings (on 50)…

1) 50. My darling wife, Beth, is 50 today. She has handled it waaaaay better than yours truly did 1.5 years ago. No surprise there! She continues to inspire and amaze. The love of my life. Happy Birthday, Dolly!!

2) Store. It appears that a few folks have just discovered that Crossfit is also a business. While I can certainly understand the sentiment about the prices quoted, I seem to recall the exact same comments about the prices charged previously. Same themes, too, about not being consistent with the type of folks in the community, greedy, etc., etc.

There are now, STILL, 3 Crossfits. Crossfit the fitness program, one version of which is brought to you free of charge here on Crossfit.com, 3-on, 1-off. Crossfit the sport, soon to be coming to a computer near you as the Crossfit Games beam out from the HDC. And Crossfit the company, Crossfit, Inc., responsible for providing the livelihood of quite a few folks not only at Crossfit HQ but also at some 3000 Affiliate gyms and a few non-affilitated companies (Innov-8, Life as Rx, C2).

I totally get the Crossfit Community thing. Really. But business is business. The store will fly or not. The merchandise will move or not. The pricing is appropriate per the market or not. My bet? This will be a massively positive thing for other people selling Crossfit gear out of their box, and we will see some “special pricing” on stuff in Q4.

Crossfit, Inc. understands markets, too.

3)The edge. No, not that guitar guy… as in ‘living on the edge.’ I saw this somewhere; can’t remember just where so apologies to whomever owns the quote. “If you’re not living on the edge you’re taking up too much space.”

That’s some good stuff.

I don’t think it’s about danger, but I do think it’s about risk. About taking chances. Living out on the farthest reaches of what you THINK you can do, because that’s the only way to find out just what you CAN do.

There are times in life when it’s easier, or at least more appropriate to do this. I made my entrepreneurial leap at age 44. Rather late for sure, and financially maybe too late. We’ll see. But a bunch of us old folks were together last night chatting about our progeny and hoping that they would get out on the edge now, while they are young. Take some chances. Maybe fail a couple of times. Fail UP.

Out on the edge is where the really big successes lie.

4) Carpe Diem. “Living to die another day.” I like this one, and I like it because you can spin it a bunch of ways. Me? Well, I’m a pretty positive spin guy as you’ve no doubt discovered.

Today I live. I, like you, and like every creature walking our fair planet, will die on some tomorrow. Another day, but not today. I know not which tomorrow it will be, but I know that, for the moment, it is not today.

I hold a “hand” that I’ve been dealt from yesterday, one that will be the foundation for the “hand” I will hold tomorrow. I cannot change the deal; what is in my hand is what I have, what I will play from today. I have a responsibility to make sure that I don’t totally muck it up today, ’cause if I’m in the game tomorrow I’ll want to have a reasonable hand to start. But I’m playing TODAY and I’m going to play to win.

Somebody has to win; it might as well be me. Heck, LOTS of people can win; I might as well be one of them.

I’m living to die another day. My game will be over and I’ll have played that last hand. But I’m LIVING today, not dying, and I’ll be PLAYING that hand.